


As Fantasy Ends

by WyattShepard



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/F, Fantasy, Friendship, Hurt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-30 18:12:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19408663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WyattShepard/pseuds/WyattShepard
Summary: Sequel to One Fantasy, giving more of a look of what happened after the night Lion tried to wipe out another of Gridania's prominent Free Companies, and what lead to a young Miqo'te woman in a self-imposed manhunt for the remaining members and supporters of Lion.





	As Fantasy Ends

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [One Fantasy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8725936) by [WyattShepard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WyattShepard/pseuds/WyattShepard). 



**_As Fantasy Ends_ **

_By Wyatt Shepard_

The Paladin’s armor clanked as she leaned against the railing and watched the snowfall. She always did enjoy winter, especially winter in Ishgard. The Miqo’te watched a snowflake lazily float down and land on the tip of her nose and giggled as she brushed it away. Normally waiting on someone would leave her annoyed, but she simply couldn’t be angry when it was snowing. She had never known snow before she became an adventurer, her homeland being mostly desert and sand dunes. The woman had discovered that she loved Ishgard’s chilly weather, but something about today seemed off to her. She shrugged, pushed herself off the railing, and turned only to run headlong into an Elzen man. They both went tumbling to the ground among a flurry of scattered papers.

“Ah, I’m so sorry Miss I should have watched where I was going,” He apologized. She blinked several times to let her eyes focus and she was met by a man taller than her sitting in a pile of papers. He wore armor marking him as a recruit Paladin. She frowned and began collecting his papers before handing them back to him.

“Don’t sweat it, kid,” She said, giving him a smile as he accepted the documents. He attempted to shuffle them back into order before giving up and cramming them into his pack.

“Thank you, My Lady,” He said with a bow, “Daric Bontant at your service.” She raised an eyebrow at his name. She had a small dusting of freckles across her nose that he found attractive. 

“You wouldn’t be here looking for a Kimpach’e would you,” The woman asked evenly. His eyes widened before he opened his pack again and quickly fished out the papers.

“Seven Hells, I didn’t just knock my instructor down before I even met her did I,” His voice sounded as if he expected her to be angry with him. She simply smiled and put a hand on his arm to still him.

“Take a breath Daric, I’m not going to yell at you.” Her words seemed to put him at ease, his shoulders lowering from the stiff posture they had been holding. 

“Kimpach’e Ramasamma at your service, but please call me Kim,” She introduced herself with a sideways smirk. He snapped back into his stiff posture and saluted her. She chuckled as she waved to the right and started walking. He quickly fell in beside her. 

“So, tell me about yourself Daric,” She said conversationally as they walked through the Foundation. 

“Well, there’s not much to say about me, Ma’am,” He responded, finally getting the papers back into his pack, “I was born here in Ishgard and signed up to be a knight when I turned sixteen. I’ve been training since then, and when I passed my exams last month they gave me the rank of Paladin and assigned me to you last week.” Kimpach’e listened, nodding her head when he would glance over at her. The pair ascended the stairs that lead to the richer districts. The younger Paladin had only taken a couple steps before he stopped, causing Kim to look back at him when she noticed.

“Excuse me Ma’am but is it alright for me to follow you up there,” Daric asked. Kimpach’e scoffed before jerking her head in the direction the stairs led.

“Don’t worry about that,” Kim responded with a grin, “if you’re with me then it’s fine, kid.” Daric nodded and started up the steps again, Kim waited until he had caught up with her before they set off.

“There you go again,” He commented after several seconds of silence. Kim raised her eyebrows in a question.

“You keep calling me kid, but you look like you are maybe three years older than me, at most,” He said, his cheeks going red once his brain caught up with what his mouth had just said. Kimpach’e allowed a small smile to creep onto her face.

“Begging your pardon, Ma’am, that wasn’t professional,” He corrected himself and quickly glanced away from her. The sound of laughter drew his hazel-colored eyes back to her questioningly. He had to admit that her laugh put him at ease.

“No need for that, I’d prefer if you speak your mind to me,” She said once the laughter had stopped. He frowned but nodded.

“I will try, Ma’am,” He said, which Kimpach’e responded by slapping him on the back of his head.

“I thought I told you to call me Kim,” She said before he could question her. He grinned sheepishly in response. They reached the top of the stairs and Kimpach’e turned left, following the smell of fresh cinnamon.

“And to answer your question I am young for my position. I’m twenty-three,” She said and could see the surprise flicker across his face from the corner of her eye.

“If I may ask, where are we going Kim,” He asked, hesitating before saying her name but forced it out anyways. Kimpach’e ignored him and the pair fell into silence. They eventually approached the training yard and she turned to face him.

“Alright, we aren’t leaving until you can disarm me,” She announced with a wide smile. He regarded her plainly for a moment before shrugging and drawing his sword. The Miqo’te hummed her approval before drawing her own sword. 

“I expected you to at least complain. Glad to see you’re not afraid of some tough training,” She told him as she dropped into her stance, “Normally recruits always have something to say about the first day with me.”

“Honestly I expected something like this. Although you did catch me off guard, I thought you were going to have me run in my armor,” The Elzen responded as he dropped into a stance as well, his mirroring hers. She barked a short laugh at that.

“If you don’t give me a decent sparring match, I still might. Now come, ``she said, her voice leaving no room for argument. He nodded once before they started circling.

**-Seven Hours Later-**

The sun had already dipped slightly below the horizon by the time the two finished sparring. Both warriors panted, each barely able to keep their swords up and both had set their shields to the side awhile ago. Kimpach’e wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her gloved hand.

“Let’s go ahead and call it for today,” Kim told him, “You did well.” Daric smiled at the praise as they both sheathed their swords and gathered their shields.

“That means a lot Ma’am- Kim,” He responded. Steam drifted off them both in thick clouds.

“With a little work you may be able to match me when I’m not holding back,” She said, a wide smile stretching her lips. His face became very neutral for several seconds before he shrugged.

“Oh, one more thing if you don’t mind,” Kim asked as she walked to a bucket and splashed her face with water, “I’d like you to meet my wife before you go.” Daric looked like he was going to refuse when Kim grabbed his arm and started dragging him behind her.

“Don’t worry it won’t take long,” She told him happily. They stopped at a bakery so Kim could buy a cinnamon roll for her wife before they started climbing more stairs. The snow fell faster now, urging the pair to get inside. They approached a cozy two-story house as the sun dipped fully below the horizon. 

“Fate,” Kim called as she kicked the snow off her boots and reached to open the door. It silently gilded open at her touch and there was a moment where it felt like time had stopped. Kim let the treat in her hands hit the ground and drew her sword and shield.

“Kim,” Daric asked as he looked over from undoing his own boots, but the paladin ignored him as she made her way into the house. The younger paladin bent down to pick up the bagged-cinnamon roll and shuffled through the front door. He found Kim standing just inside the first room, her back to him.

“Are you okay, Ma’am,” He asked carefully. She had lowered both her weapons, the sword’s tip digging into the wood floor as she stared at something on the opposite wall. Tears trailed down her cheeks and her mouth hung open. Daric reached out for her shoulder but was stopped cold. As he stepped further into the building he was able to see it: opposite from where they had entered there was a woman pinned to the wall by a lance, her body twisted and broken. The letter L and a crude lion’s head were drawn beside the body on the wall, followed by a K with an X through it right beside Fate’s head. Both the letters and the lion’s head dripped with blood that was used to draw them. Daric took a step back and tripped on a chair leg. He stumbled backwards and caught himself on a couch, his hand coated in wet blood. Blood also coated much of the furniture inside the small home. Daric was speechless, his head swimming with the shock of it all, but beside him Kimpach’e let her sword fall from her grasp followed by the shield, both clambered loudly to the floor. 

“No, no not again,” Kim frantically mumbled to herself, each word growing louder and louder, “I can’t lose you again!” The Miqo’te rushed over and threw herself onto the other woman. Kim frantically began casting what little healing spells she knew and in doing so, covered her arms and chest in blood. At first nothing seemed to be happening as Kimpach’e kept casting until she was panting for breath. Fate’s head twitched, a very small twitch, but a sign of life regardless. She slowly looked up at her lover’s tear-streaked face.

“Kim, I love you so much,” she whispered, the words using her last breath of air.

The keening sound that slowly tore itself from Kimpach’e’s throat snapped Daric out of his trance. It grew in volume until the woman was screaming, her eyes closed as she finally broke down. She continued to wail until her lungs couldn’t give anymore. She lost count of how long she was there, but eventually, someone did lift her off of the dead lancer. She didn’t fight back or lash out; Whoever they were, Kim wanted them to kill her. Kimpach’e thought that she actually might have been broken.

\---- 

The next time she even noticed her surroundings she was sitting on the stone steps that they had used earlier. Her breath came out in misty vapor and she suddenly realized how cold she actually was. There was also a blanket draped around her shoulders which she clung closer to.

Daric walked up beside her, sat down, and pushed a cup of something warm into her hands. On her questioning glance, he sighed and looked down into his own cup.

“I would always bring my little sister hot chocolate when she needed it,” he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, “I guess I couldn’t help myself.” She smiled sadly as she looked at her own cup and took a sip.

“Thanks Daric, but I don’t think that this will solve anything,” she whispered. He glanced over his mug at the startling amount of resolve in her voice. He only had a second before her sword’s hilt hit him in the back of the head and everything faded to black.

“But I know what will,” she finished, sheathing her sword and setting her empty mug beside him. 

“And I know that you’re kind,” she commented to his unconscious form, “you would come with me if I gave you the chance. But this is something I must do myself.”

She sent Fate’s body back to the sea, a form of burial that she knew Fate would have preferred and left Ishgard. She had some loose ends to tie up.

\----

The Miqo’te slipped onto her shoulders and spared one last look back at Ishgard. It had been her home for a little more than two years now, and a part of her really didn’t want to leave. She knew who was responsible for Fate’s death, but she couldn’t honestly believe it yet. She had to find whoever had done this, and for that she needed to be in Ul’dah. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of the harsh wind and heat. It wasn’t later - Kim suspected it was past midnight judging by the moon’s position - that the miqo’te was torn from her thoughts. She had expected bandits at some point, but she hadn’t expected them to be using snowballs. The cold ball of slush hit her square in the back of the head, causing her to squeak suddenly in surprise and drew a long, tri-barreled rifle from her back. 

“You didn’t think that I’d just let you run off like that did you?” She heard from behind a nearby tree. Daric stepped out from behind a tree on top of the hill she had just trudged down. Her ears flattened on top of her head as he approached.

“Daric go home,” She said as she holstered her rifle and turned from him. 

“Ma’am with all due respect: shove that,” he immediately responded. If the situation had been different Kim would have burst out laughing at the remark. She was finding it increasingly difficult to convince herself that he should leave. But she was aware that bringing him could very well lead to his death. Unnecessary death that could be avoided. But beneath the haze of shock and the thoughts and memories that she was specifically locking away, something still made her smile: He was the spitting image of her elder brother D’naw, right down to the good-guy white-knight stereotype that everyone seemed to think all paladins had.

“This is something I have to do alone… The last time I involved people I cared about-” she trailed off, biting her lip and looking away. Daric trudged down the hill and put a hand on her shoulder, keeping it there until she looked at him.

“You don’t have to tell me anything right now, but when you want too, I would hear about your past. In exchange, I’ll tag along and help you out,” He said, a note of pleading creeping into his voice. She searched him with her eyes for a couple of long seconds before letting out a long sigh.

“Fine,” she jerked her thumb towards the next hill ahead of them, “Since I know you will persist in tracking me down again if I escape, you can just join me instead.” He started to take a step but she put her palm up to his chest. He glanced down slightly to meet her eyes but she was intently focused on a spot on the ground.

“On the condition that if I tell you to run if things get out of hand later, you follow that order. No exceptions, Paladin.” She nearly could feel the shift in his posture from the use of the title. Regardless he saluted sharply, bringing a smile to Kim’s tired face. She didn’t have the energy currently to explain why he was already a paladin in her eyes despite still being a recruit, so she just turned and resumed her walk. Behind her, she heard him scramble to catch up once he realized that she was leaving.

“So where exactly are you planning on going,” He asked as he reached her side and adjusted the straps of his pack. She hummed thoughtfully into the chill of the night air as she tried to find a place to start the tale.

“Tell me, Daric,” she said, “do you have any knowledge of the city-states outside of Ishgard?” He shrugged a shoulder in response, which is about as much as she expected.

“That’s fine, the one we are going to be visiting is called Ul’dah,” she paused as they came to a stream that had frozen over during the colder days of the month. Kim frowned at the ice, glancing around for a moment before she brought them to a couple of frozen rocks jetting out of the surface.

“Is it anything like Ishgard,” Daric asked as he tested one of the rocks stuck in the ice with his foot. Kim thought for a moment as she watched him shakily jump from the first rock.

“Not really anything like Ishgard, honestly,” she said, giving him a weak smile when he reached the other side.

“Great! I’ve wanted to see the world my whole life. Don’t tell my dad but,” he glanced around suspiciously as if his father would appear any moment, “I never really enjoyed the whole ‘paladin’ lifestyle. I dreamed of just running away from it all to see what else was out here.”

“But the way you fought when we spared was really impressive,” she argued, “why would you 

She raised her eyebrows but said nothing while she crossed. Once she had landed on the other side they began walking, choosing to fall into companionable silence for a time. 

\---

The dark-wood door to the tavern burst open causing snow to rush in on chilly wind. Two figures fought their way inside and shoved the door shut.

“Welcome! Please warm-up, there’s quite a chill tonight,” called out a voice from behind a counter made of the same dark-wood as everything else. The Hyur man nodded to the pair as he sat a crate down on the bar.

“We don’t get many travelers through here lately,” he commented as he began to stock the bar from the box. His voice was gruff and rang with a partial Shroud-accent. Atop his upper-lip sat a bushy mustache that curled on both ends and Kim could see a distinct outline of muscle underneath his green vest. 

“So please forgive the state of things. Is it just the two of you,” he asked as he blew the dust off a well-aged looking bottle.

“Just us,” she confirmed, “this is Daric and I’m Kimpach’e.” The man finished stocking the shelves and turned to face them. He leaned against the edge of the bar and pulled out a notebook.

“I’m Ivan by the way. Now let’s see about getting you a room huh,” he said, flipping to one of the first pages.

\----

Kim threw open the door to the room they shared and collapsed into the sheets on one of the beds. It was a pleasantly furnished room, both beds were made tightly, a small chest resting at the foot of each. The accommodations were simple, but this was nothing new to either of the paladins.

“You waste no time I see,” Daric commented as he followed her into the room. She stretched out, sighing in relief when her tired muscles relaxed. He huffed something between a grunt and a chuckle and sat his things down in the corner. She hummed in response but didn’t open her eyes. He didn’t need to be looking at her to know she was fast asleep. Daric laid his head back onto his pillow and drifted off almost immediately. 

\----


End file.
